Uzumaki Ashina glanced at his nephew, who had only just managed to calm himself, feeling puzzled but choosing not to ask further. He instead continued,
"The Cloud Village plans to use ships to evacuate part of our clan via sea routes. However, on the ocean, the Mist Village's ninja are the true masters.
"We must first cooperate with the Cloud Village to wipe out the Mist Village forces sent this time. Only then can the children safely travel by sea to the Land of Lightning and reach Kumogakure."
He laid out the battle plan he had agreed upon with Tutai. There were no elaborate tactics—only one priority: securing the retreat route first.
As long as the Mist Village's expeditionary force was eliminated, the remaining Sand and Stone Village ninja would pose little threat. After all, those people were nothing but landlubbers.
"I've already made arrangements with them. If we manage to hold out this time, we'll continue living here in the Land of Whirlpools. If we can't, then the underage children and unmarried clan members will be transferred to the Cloud Village.
"At the same time, we'll hand over the portion of our sealing arts that can be used by non-Uzumaki as payment for inviting the Cloud Village to fight on our behalf."
He revealed the terms of the deal. Letting others fight for free was unrealistic—sufficient compensation was necessary. The only viable price was the Uzumaki clan's sealing art inheritance.
"…Alright."
After a moment of silence, Uzumaki Masahiko gritted his teeth and nodded. There was no other option now.
Damn it. If I survive this war and end up in the Cloud Village, the first thing I'll do is kill that detestable little brat.
Seeing that even the clan head had agreed, the four elders had nothing more to say.
At this point, having an extra choice and a fallback route was already a blessing.
At the same time, Tutai caught up with Tamura Zairo and the others at their agreed meeting point—or rather, with four people who had somehow become five.
"What did you do?"
Tutai stared at the group of ANBU, the two enormous scrolls, and the red-haired girl who hadn't been there before. He genuinely couldn't understand.
He'd been gone for less than an hour. How had this kid managed to cause trouble again?
Tamura Zairo looked utterly innocent as he explained,
"It's not my fault. Not long after you went in, the Hokage's son came out of UzUzushiogakure. Things almost turned violent.
"I had no choice but to impersonate a Senju and argue with them. After that, I wandered around UzUzushiogakure a bit, met the Uzumaki clan head, chatted with him for a while, and he entrusted me with this girl and all of the Uzumaki clan's inheritance and foundation.
"Oh, right—this girl is the chosen Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh internally.
Master Lu was right. True feelings never last—only套路 wins people over.
In this world, sincerity had no future. It only led to being cheated until you had nothing left—sometimes even losing your organs. Only schemes could get you everything.
This crude explanation made Tutai's eyelids twitch violently. The amount of information packed into those words was overwhelming—even with his intellect, he couldn't sort it all out immediately.
"You're playing a very dangerous game."
Tutai's face darkened. He deeply regretted bringing this brat along.
Too much trouble. Way too much.
"I thought it through. The risk to us is actually minimal. At worst, once the Uzumaki clan head figures it out, he'll detain you, Tutai-sama, since you didn't leave in time.
"Given the current situation in the Land of Whirlpools, UzUzushiogakure wouldn't dare kill you and completely offend the Cloud Village."
Tamura Zairo spoke with complete confidence. He had already considered this possibility—that was why he dared to gamble so boldly.
"Think my ass!"
Finally losing his patience, Tutai punched the boy on the head. He had nearly ended up as a prisoner because of this.
"You—move immediately. Take the scrolls and the girl back at full speed. Make sure all three reach the village intact. They're extremely important. This mission must succeed."
Glaring at the boy, Tutai issued orders to the ANBU.
Those he brought along were absolute confidants with unquestionable combat strength. Coupled with the hidden tunnel route, their safe return should not be a problem.
"Yes!"
They responded at once. Three of them each carried a scroll or the girl on their backs and entered the tunnel. At the rear, an Earth Release ninja collapsed the passage to prevent pursuit.
After winding through the tunnel for a while, Tamura Zairo and Tutai branched off onto a side path. The original three ANBU followed them as well, now having changed out of the Konoha ANBU disguises.
They continued onward and soon emerged back onto the surface, accelerating toward the next rendezvous point.
Just before reaching it, Tutai suddenly stopped and glared at the boy before ordering his subordinates,
"Keep a close eye on this brat. Don't let him stir up any more trouble."
"Yes!"
The three responded crisply. Internally, however, they held no resentment toward Tamura Zairo—if anything, they admired and appreciated him.
That haul alone was likely enough to earn them a collective S-rank mission record.
Easy gains like this were always welcome. If necessary, letting Tutai-sama suffer a bit was perfectly acceptable.
Seeing himself singled out, Tamura Zairo felt displeased but said nothing, quietly noting this down in his little mental ledger.
The five slowed their pace and soon arrived at the rendezvous point—a secluded forest.
Representatives from the other three sides were already there, all turning their gazes toward Tutai's group.
"Has the Cloud Village run out of people? All you brought are a bunch of kids!"
The Mist Village's leader, Hōzuki Jashin, sneered with undisguised contempt.
"Far too young. Completely unreliable."
As the Sand Village representative, Chiyo nodded in agreement, also displeased by the Cloud Village's late arrival.
If it had been someone of the same generation, that would've been one thing—but instead, it was a junior, followed by a short little kid who looked barely more than a child.
"Looks like the Cloud Village still hasn't recovered from its internal turmoil back then. Why not just withdraw from the Land of Whirlpools campaign altogether?"
Xishi Ren, the Stone Village's representative, chimed in, the three sides jointly pressuring Tutai's group.
Only the trio behind Chiyo—Rasa and the others—looked at the boy behind Tutai with interest. Though his hair color and style had changed, his build was unmistakably familiar—especially that set of light armor.
Yagura glared resentfully, silently cursing that little pervert.
Tamura Zairo said nothing in the face of the three factions' hostility, but he quietly etched their faces into memory, already thinking about whether he'd ever get the chance to wipe them out.
I, Tamura, don't hold grudges. I repay them quickly.
"Looks like there's no point in talking. Tonight, everyone acts on their own!"
Tutai snorted coldly and turned to leave.
He had arrived exactly on time—half an hour early, in fact—and yet they still targeted him.
Clearly, the other three had already reached an agreement before arriving. They intended to exclude the Cloud Village entirely.
Fine.
If they didn't want the Cloud Village involved, then they shouldn't blame them later.
Tamura Zairo and the others said nothing and followed Tutai as they left swiftly.
Before departing, Tamura Zairo glanced at Rasa behind Chiyo. The hostility coming from him was far stronger than last time.
The three factions weren't surprised by Tutai's blunt departure. The Cloud Village had always been this aggressive.
"As expected—far too young."
Chiyo chuckled, unconcerned.
Now that the three villages were united, no matter how angry the Cloud Village became, it would be meaningless—especially since tonight's operation was already set. The Cloud Village no longer had time to rearrange anything.
She herself hadn't initially supported teaming up with the Stone and Mist Villages against the Cloud Village. But the intelligence Rasa brought back changed her mind—particularly his high evaluation of the Cloud Village and the threat it posed to Sunagakure.
In that case, it was only logical to take this opportunity to suppress them.
If the chance arose… she wouldn't mind wiping out the Cloud Village's deployed forces entirely.
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